


Sweet Things (The Door Is Locked, It's Just Us)

by i_amthecosmos, magdalyna



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Grinding, Hand Feeding, Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, charming is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 07:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18278468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magdalyna/pseuds/magdalyna
Summary: There's more food than anyone needs in Auradon, and Carlos can't eat when people are looking. Jay finds a way to help him.





	Sweet Things (The Door Is Locked, It's Just Us)

When the VK’s get in the limo on their way to Auradon, the first thing they find are the snacks. 

Colorful candies, pretzels, and fizzy pop, all for the taking. And take they did. Jay gulped handfuls of candy so fast he couldn’t possibly have tasted it. Evie found the prettiest, daintiest snacks and claimed them. Mal tried everything.

Carlos found his favorites, and then sneaked a few in his pockets. He was very disappointed when he found out that chocolate melts easily. He wound up washing his shorts in the bathroom sink before he remembered that this place had housekeeping staff. 

…

It was hard to get used to the food. 

First off, there was a _lot_ of it, more than anyone needed, it seemed. Was all this really required for a prep school full of active teens? Carlos had no idea. He just knew he saw more food here in a day then he did at home in a month. Or a year.

First there was the cafeteria. The first day, the four of them went up to the line to look at all the food. Carlos didn’t recognize some of it. From Jay’s expression, neither did he. Evie and Mal were more prominent the island, but even they looked confused. 

Evie wound up staring at a bunch of leaves and bits of vegetables. “Is this seaweed?” She asked. “We didn’t live in the pirate section.” 

Jane, the Fairy Godmother’s gawky daughter, answered. “Um, it’s salad. Like, lettuces and stuff. And some kale. It’s good for you.” 

The four of them looked at each other. Evie moved first. “I’ll try some. It’s colorful.” 

“Ugh,” Mal said. She moved past the salad and went to a place that had a bunch of glasses of different colored liquids, and she picked the darkest red one. “Hey, is this wine?”

“Hell yeah!” Jay went to grab the glass from Mal. Mal’s glare made him withdraw his hand in time. “Wow. Looks like blood.”

“No. It’s...pomegranate juice.” Jane looked a bit scared now. “It has antioxidants in it?” Jane’s voice went up on the last word.

Mal did a double take. “Will this protect me from being poisoned? Is that what you mean?” Evie and Jay looked impressed.

“I mean...no, I don’t think so?” Poor Jane was out of her depth by now, and Carlos felt a bit bad for her. “Doug, um, can you help me?” A boy named Doug walked over and tried to explain what ‘antioxidants’ meant in this situation. Carlos felt like he wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he nodded, as did Mal. 

Mal took a glass, sipped it, and nodded, smiling faintly. “It’s nice. I’ll get this every day.” Jane smiled, looking a bit bewildered. 

Carlos looked over at Jay, who was piling his plate with everything, not giving a fuck if all the food touched or the sauces mingled. Carlos looked at everything available. Anything he could want.

And suddenly, he couldn’t eat.

…

They kept happening in the cafeteria. His stomach would growl all day, they would get to lunch, and suddenly, nothing. He was surrounded by people who looked at them like they were lesser species of human. And the food was overwhelming. 

By the third day, Jay had noticed. “Come on ‘Los, you’ve gotta eat up. Get strong. You’re on the team with me, right?” Jay went back to the line and came back a minute later with something that smelled amazing. “This is called lasagna. It’s the best thing they’ve got today, so eat up.” 

Carlos looked at the plate. It was full of cheese and meat with sauce and big noodles. It did look really good. He took his fork and cut off a bit on the side. Then his stomach flipped. “I can’t eat it.” Carlos looked up, and everyone at their table was looking at him now. 

Evie came over and sat on his other side. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” Carlos nodded. “I know. Do what I do, just cut it up into small pieces. That way you can draw it out. It looks better too.” She took his fork and a knife and started cutting the lasagna into dainty bites.

“Carlos doesn’t care about being ladylike, Evie,” Mal said. “It’s too crowded in here.” Carlos gave her a grateful look. “Maybe you can smuggle it out and eat it later.” 

“It’s not as good when it’s cold,” Jay argued between huge bites of his. Carlos shrugged. He could eat in the morning, where he could just grab a piece of fruit and one of those bar things and call it good. And at night, the people at the school didn’t eat at a set time as long as they were done an hour before curfew. It was easy to come in then when most weren’t around. But lunch...He pushed his plate away. 

“I can wait until tonight,” Carlos said. “It’s not a big deal.” 

“I hate to say it, but Jay is right,” Mal said. “You need to eat lunch. Look, maybe you can get a free period or something so you can get some food.” 

“No. No, I don’t want to ask for special treatment.” Carlos had never liked drawing much attention to himself, and he wasn’t going to start now. “I wish I could eat it though. It smells really good.” 

Evie patted his arm and then ate hers, with impeccable table manners. Carlos figured someone had to enjoy lunch even if he couldn’t. “I don’t know why this is happening. What happens to it if I don’t eat it?”

“Then they throw it out,” Mal said. “I’ve seen them. Just throw everything out, whole pieces of cake. Everything.” She grimaced, disgusted at the waste.

“I can’t let that happen.” Carlos stared at his plate of cut up lasagna. “I just don’t want everyone staring at me.”

“They’re not,” Evie said. “And we can sit closer if you want. Give you some cover.” 

“Yeah.” Jay slid over so he was sitting right next to Carlos. Carlos felt his skin heat just from having him near. Mal moved so she was across from him, and started filing her nails. “Go ahead, ‘Los, we’ve got you covered.” 

Carlos looked at his bright mess of a cut up lunch, and breathed. Then he took a forkful of the pasta and brought it to his mouth. 

“What are you four doing?” FG had to appear right then. Carlos dropped his fork. “Whatever you’re trying to hide, it needs to stop.” Carlos saw Mal’s eyes flash green right before she stalked out of the lunch room. Carlos stared at his plate. Evie patted his hand. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. He felt like a failure. Everyone else seemed to be adjusting to this place, but Carlos couldn’t even eat in public. 

“Not your fault that prissy fairy came over at the wrong moment,” Jay said. He hadn’t moved away, still leaning over Carlos. “I’ll sneak you something for our room later.” Carlos nodded. He felt so tired. 

Carlos got through the rest of his classes, and felt exhausted. He collapsed on his bed soon as he could, needing a nap before homework. Jay was still gone, doing extra practices. Carlos touched his bedspread, loving how soft and clean it was. Then he fell asleep. 

Later, he heard Jay enter the room. He didn’t slam the door this time, but Carlos still heard him. “Hey man,” Jay said. “Wake up, I have food.” Carlos blinked a few times, then sat up.

“What did you get?” 

“A sandwich, and an apple. And some chocolate if you’re good.” Jay looked pleased with himself.

“Good? Are you serious? We’re supposed to be evil, Jay.” But Carlos was starving. “Give it to me.” 

“Here you go.” Jay handed him a big sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato. Carlos ate it all in about two minutes. “I know, did the same thing when I had one the first time.” Carlos then handed him the apple. “Better than the ones on the island, right?” 

Carlos looked at it. It was pretty and seemed to shine. He took a bite. “Not bad.” It was sweet, not as sweet as chocolate though. He looked at Jay, wondering where he had the rest. 

“Uh uh uh, you’re not getting dessert until you finish your apple.” Carlos rolled his eyes and crunched through the apple, then threw the core at him. “Hey!” 

“Give me the chocolate, fuckwad.” Jay laughed. Then he took out a little silver bag, holding it out of Carlos’s reach when he tried to grab it. “You shit.” 

“Calm down. I’ll let you have it.” Jay got on the bed, kneeling over Carlos. “Relax.” He took out a piece and held it in front of Carlo’s mouth.

Carlos paused. This wasn’t something they normally did, at all. Usually Jay just wrestled him to the ground for fun. Carlos looked at Jay, to see if this was a trap. Was Jay trying to lure him in? Maybe. But Jay saw the look, and nodded. Jay’s cocky expression was absent, and instead, Jay just looked curious.

Carlos opened his mouth, and Jay popped the small candy drop into his mouth. “Eat that one, then you get another,” Jay said. Carlos chewed slowly, not taking his eyes off Jay the entire time. When he was done, Jay gave him another, and another, until the chocolate was all gone.

“Do you feel better?” Jay’s smirk was back, but there was a heat in his eyes that Carlos didn’t seem directed at him very often. Carlos nodded, not able to say anything. Where was this game going? Jay was still hovering over him. 

Jay didn’t move back right away. Instead, he kept watching Carlos. Carlos met his gaze as Jay looked him over. Just when Carlos could hardly stand it, Jay pulled back. “Okay,” Jay said. “At least that got you to eat. Um, I have to go.” 

Carlos watched as Jay went to the bathroom, and noticed the bulge in his pants. He flopped back on the bed. 

The fuck were they doing?

…

They didn’t talk about it the next day. They just did their usual morning routines, and went to class. Sooner than Carlos wanted, they were back at lunch. Carlos stared at his plate of meatloaf and potatoes, trying to force himself to eat it. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you on the tourney field, keep talking that shit,” Jay said a little too loud. He bumped into Carlos as he sat next to him. Carlos felt like he was both invisible and the center of attention at the same time. Everyone could see how pathetic he was.

“Hey,” Jay whispered. He was still smiling and winking at girls and making a spectacle of himself. But that was aimed at him, Carlos was sure. He looked down, and he saw that Jay had some candy in his hand. 

He looked up at Jay’s eyes, and Jay gave the barest of nods. “Like last night, okay? But take them from me, not out of my hand.” 

Carlos nodded. Jay kept distracting everyone around them, and Carlos took one candy and crunched it between his teeth. Then he took another.

“I can’t just eat candy every lunch period,” Carlos whispered. Jay didn’t even look over, but Carlos watched as Jay picked up his fork. Jay had his other arm on the table, shielding his hand from people’s stares.

Jay got a forkful of meatloaf, and then put the fork in Carlos’s hand. Carlos stared at it, and then took a bite. It tasted good. He handed the fork back to Jay. 

The next bite was mashed potatoes and gravy. They went like that, Jay feeding him things while trying to project that there was nothing strange happening. Before Carlos knew it, he’d eaten about half of his food. 

“You good now?” Jay whispered. Carlos nodded. Then Jay reached under the table and put a hand on Carlos’s knee. Carlos stilled. 

“Jay?” He had a lot of questions, now. But Jay shook his head. Carlos got it, this was no place to have this conversation. So instead, Jay squeezed his knee and then let go. Carlos pushed his food away and pulled out a textbook. He needed to distract himself.

That night, Carlos spent a lot of time in the shower. He wasn’t avoiding Jay, not really. Just putting it off. Whatever was going to happen, he wasn’t sure he was ready. Near as he could tell, Jay wasn’t waiting for him anyway, just playing video games on their huge TV. 

Finally, Carlos got out of the shower. He dried off and put his pajamas on. As soon as he entered their bedroom, Jay paused the game. “Hey. You okay?”

“I think so,” Carlos said. “But maybe we should talk about this.” Jay scrambled up so he was sitting on the edge of his bed, and patted the space next to him. Carlos sat next to him. “So, what are we doing, exactly?”

Jay smiled, but not his usual cocky smirk. This one was a little rueful. “I was just trying to think of ways to help you eat. I didn’t really think you’d eat those candies out of my hand like that. And then in the lunchroom, letting me feed you. I didn’t really have a plan. And now...here we are.”

“Yeah. But, is this a thing? Do you want to fuck? Like, in return?” Something about that made Jay glare. “No, don’t get mad at me.” 

“I’m not, it’s just...” Jay looked at him. “We’re not on the island, Carlos. Everything doesn’t have to about alliances, or having to pay someone back. If you’re not interested, just say so.” Jay looked down, and Carlos could see him playing with the sheets, his fingers twisting the fabric. “I won’t make you do anything.”

“Okay,” Carlos said, and Jay closed his eyes. “I mean, I understand.” Carlos reached over, and put his hand over Jay’s. He stopped playing with the sheet immediately. “I don’t know what I can offer you.” Like any other child of the island, Carlos had things in his past he didn’t like to talk about.

“Then tell me, when you can,” Jay said. Then he seemed to hear how needy he sounded, and tried to cover it with a laugh. “I mean, of course you’ll tell me.” Carlos squeezed Jay’s hand, and the bravado faded a little. 

“Not on the island, remember? I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but the old rules don’t apply.” Carlos decided not to think about what would happen when his mother got loose and made him her servant again. They had some time away from their parents, they should use it well.

Jay looked over at him. Carlos let him look, same as last night. Then Jay pulled in closer, slow enough that Carlos could stop him. Carlos moved forward a little, and Jay put a possessive hand on the side of his neck when their mouths met. 

They kissed softly. Carlos and Jay had slept in the same dirty mattresses on the Isle occasionally, for warmth or when they were hiding out. But they’d never been physical like this. Jay had taken control, but he kept it gentle. When he pulled back, Carlos knew he was flushed and wide-eyed.

“That good?” Carlos nodded. “Okay. I need to get ready for bed. Do you want to sleep in the same bed with me? We don’t have to do anything else, just sleep.” 

“Yeah. Might be good to have you close.” Jay smirked, and then went to the bathroom.

When Jay came back, he just got in bed with Carlos, turned off the light, and then spooned him. At least, that seemed to be the term for that sleeping position here. “Night Carlos.”

“Night,” he said. Carlos closed his eyes, even though it was hard to sleep with Jay’s hands on him. Eventually he managed, though.

…

The next day, Chad Charming nearly caught them in the lunchroom.

“Why do you two sit so close?” He demanded. Jay put Carlos’s fork down. 

“What do you mean? He’s my friend.” 

“But you’re sitting too close. That’s gay. Like, really gay.” 

Carlos and Jay just stared at him. Really? Just sitting closely? 

Jay cleared his throat. “Clearly you’ve never been around a pirate. Sitting together is nothing.” 

Chad’s face went bright red, and he stomped off. Carlos giggled a little. “Good job.” 

“One of these days he’s going to piss me off and I’m going to forget myself. Don’t let me hit that bastard, okay?” 

“Don’t. I need you here with me, okay? I could never take this place by myself.” Jay nodded. “But man, I’d like to hit Charming for that one. Like-” Carlos let his voice drop. “-There’s no way he could know, but...”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jay said. “Nothing they say means anything.” Jay took a little bit of the spaghetti and meatballs on Carlos’s fork. Carlos took it. “See, that’s good isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Carlos looked around the room. The girls had already left, so it was just him and Jay against Auradon. That’s how he looked at it, anyway. Jay sat with him until Carlos had eaten enough, and them they walked to class together. Or, Jay walked Carlos to his class, and then went to his. Charming happened to see that, and gave them a look that was half curious, half disgusted.

Carlos figured he wouldn’t know what to tell him even if he did feel like explaining, so he just went to class. 

…

When they got to their rooms, Jay brought a pizza and they had it for dinner while Carlos checked his notes. “I think you like school,” Jay said. “I don’t know if we should be making plans for the future.” 

Carlos paused from looking over his math homework.“Well, if we fail, we might need to stay here where our folks can’t get us. If Auradon doesn’t catch us, we might fly under the radar. Ben sure seems to give us the benefit of the doubt.”

“Yeah, just Ben.” Jay had some more chocolate candies, and he popped one in his mouth. Then he took another one, and held it in front of Carlos. 

“I’m not done.”

“Put it down for a few minutes, come on. You know you want one.” Jay was smirking again.

Carlos put his work down on the floor, and settled so he was sitting up in bed. Jay straddled him, moving slowly so Carlos wouldn’t be startled. Then he held a brightly colored candy in front of him. Carlos open his mouth slowly, and let Jay push it between his lips. Again, he kept his eyes on Jay. 

“Good,” Jay said. “You’re being so good.” Carlos couldn’t help the shudder that went through his body. “You like that, huh?” Jay held out another piece of candy. 

Carlos took that one too, and also Jay’s fingers, sucking them in his mouth. He saw Jay’s eyes widen in shock as he did it, and wondered if he went too far. “Shit, Carlos...” Jay pulled his hand back, and dropped the bag of candy. Then Jay was kissing him, hands on his face. 

Carlos coughed suddenly. “Fuck. Don’t choke.” Jay pulled back as Carlos spit the candy onto the floor, where Dude jumped for it. 

“Dude, no!” Carlos flung himself over to get the candy off the floor before Dude ate it. Jay got shoved aside. When Carlos had finished wrestling Dude for the tidbit, he found Jay on the bed, laughing. “Uh, sorry.”

“Okay,” Jay said, still laughing. “Wow, that didn’t end like I thought it would.” 

Carlos put Dude down and got back on the bed. “You’re not mad?” 

“No. Why would I be? I know you love Dude.” Jay grinned. “I shouldn’t have stuck my tongue down your throat. My bad.” 

Carlos sat on the bed, confused. Jay had always seemed fueled by sex and conquests, and now he was all right with Carlos ruining the mood. He wasn’t demanding anything. It didn’t seem to make sense. So Carlos just sat there, saying nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Jay moved slowly so he was next to Carlos. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m okay, I just thought...you like me right?”

“Well, yeah. Can’t you tell?” Jay put a hand on his knee, like he did in the lunch room.

“So you’re not upset I ruined everything?” 

“What are you talking about?” Carlos raised his head to meet Jay’s eyes. “You didn’t ruin anything. This, it’s just a game.” Carlos felt hot shame run through his body. “Hey. Look at me.” Carlos didn’t.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Jay continued. “I mean-I like you a lot. I wouldn’t do this unless I wanted to. You know I don’t do shit I don’t want to. And I think it makes you more confident when we’re not here.”

“You don’t think I’m needy? Or wasting your time?” 

“You’ve never wasted anything, much less that,” Jaw said. Carlos looked up and saw the sweet, sad look on Jay’s face. “Carlos, you always know what you’re going to do next. You plan everything, you work yourself down worrying. And right now, you let me call the shots. It’s a good thing I’m so kind and generous, because I could so use that for blackmail material.”

“Asshole!” Carlos shoved Jay’s arm, leaving him laughing himself breathless on the floor. “I’m sleeping with Dude tonight. Dude, come to bed.” Dude jumped on the bed, tail wagging.

“What about both me and Dude?” Jay said, smiling. “I don’t mind sharing.” Carlos snorted and flipped the covers down. “What about your homework?” Jay said as he slid into bed behind Carlos.

“I was just reviewing it. I’m sure it’s okay.” 

“Okay. Goodnight.” Jay kissed his shoulder. 

Carlos closed his eyes. Dude was burrowing under the covers to curl at his feet. Before he fell asleep, he realized he felt safe. 

…

The next day, he was at lunch but Jay was nowhere to be found. The girls were other places as well. He sighed and got out his textbooks. He’d have a study period if he couldn’t eat. He got his book out, and suddenly, he had a visitor. Chad.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Chad looked sneering, but also scared. That part was interesting. Carlos watched him for a second, then turned so he was facing Chad better.

“I have no idea, have you seen him at practice? He’s late.” Chad’s mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry, did you expect me to deny it? Things must be different in Auradon. On the island, you stand up for the people you consider yours.” He kept cool looking at Chad. If it came to a fight, Chad was stronger but Carlos had more experience. He could take him, if he had to. 

Chad took a couple of steps away from him. “That’s...sick. Unnatural. And all he ever does is flirt with girls, so he’s not standing up for you, it looks like.”

“So you’re saying I could do better? We’ll see about that. Bye Chad.” Carlos turned away and opened his science textbook. He could hear Chad sputtering behind him. He didn’t want to look back or engage further, so he didn’t. When lunch period was done, he got a banana for a snack later, and went to look for Jay.

 

“So, I might’ve made things worse as far as people talking about us,” Carlos said.

“No shit, I’ve had five guys come over and tell me how weird it was that I was dating you. Some of them went into more detail than that. So, Charming was being a dick and you decided to throw it in his face?”

“Basically,” Carlos said. “Now everyone really are going to be staring at us.” 

“Pretty much, but they’ll get over it eventually. Come on, we’ve got Remedial Goodness in five. Let’s go.” Then he threw an arm over Carlos’s shoulder, making him stumble and laugh. Carlos could feel the eyes, but he chose not to react to them.

When they got to class, Carlos told the girls what he’d done. Mal laughed her ass off, while Evie giggled and then clapped her hands. When FG came in, she just looked confused, and then started to lecture them. Carlos figured that she didn’t know what rumors were swirling.

He figured wrong. “All right, class is over. Carlos, Jay, stay behind a few minutes please.” Jay looked over and mouthed _shit_. Carlos had to agree. They both moved up closer and FG took a seat near them. 

“As you both know, there’s some rumors involving you two going around. I’m not going to ask if they’re true or not, but I hope you two know what the law of consent is here.”

“Um,” Carlos drew a blank. “Law of consent?”

“Yeah,” Jay said. “What is that?” 

FG looked mildly stunned, but quickly regained her composure. “Well, legal age for sex in Auradon is sixteen,” she said. “Also, anything done without the explicit consent of the other person is a crime. These can be punished with expulsion and jail time.”

“Huh,” Carlos said. “On the island we had no rules about stuff like that whatsoever.”

“Didn’t have rules period,” Jay said. “So that’s to protect children?” 

“And adults,” FG said. “But yes. And as far as that concerns the two of you, I believe Carlos isn’t quite sixteen yet.” She looked at them very seriously. “So. Do we need to find you two other roommates?” 

Jay looked stunned, mouth hanging open. Carlos tried to take control of the situation. “No. What I said to Charming-it was because he talked about us and called us gay. So I made it sound like we really had something going on. I was just trying to get him to leave us alone.”

“Yeah,” Jay said then. “I wanna see Chad Charming in here.”

“Well, I might see about putting him in detention,” FG said. “If there’s any other witnesses that can vouch for this.” Carlos groaned internally.

“I don’t know about that, I was sitting alone at lunch.” Carlos looked at Jay and shrugged. _You can’t have everything._

“Well,” FG said. “I’m glad we got this little issue cleared up. I can give you two a copy of the rules if you’d like to look them over.” Jay was already not paying attention, but Carlos nodded. FG went to make copies. 

“Good thing you think fast,” Jay said. “You saved our asses, I don’t want to room with anyone else, ever.” Jay reached over and touched Carlos’s shoulder. “Good job.”

“No problem. I don’t want to room with anyone else either.” Nobody else could understand him the way Jay did. “Shit, do you think more people paying attention to us will make my eating worse?” 

“Shit, it might. Did you have lunch when you were alone?” Carlos shook his head. “I won’t leave you alone next time then.” Carlos nodded. He could have argued, but he knew by now that Jay protected him because he wanted to. “You can depend on me, I promise.”

“Good,” Carlos said and just then FG was back with her copies of the rules. 

…

The rest of the day, Carlos and Jay had fun either deflecting or confirming the rumors about them depending on who was asking. When they got back to their room, Jay locked the door in relief. “You think they’ll forget about it soon?”

“Who knows. At least we’re back here.” Carlos looked over his room. He was going to miss this place when they went back. If they went back. 

“Yeah.” Jay took off his shoes, then slowly stripped to his underwear. Carlos watched him until Jay threw his shirt at Carlos. “Stop staring, you’re making me nervous.”

“You’re never nervous,” Carlos said, but he dropped his eyes. After a minute, Jay sat next to him, wearing his comfy sleep shirt. He put an arm around Carlos. Carlos leaned in, grateful for the gentle touch.

“I’m sorry Charming got to you,” Jay said. “I’ll find a way to injure him at tourney by accident.” Carlos shook his head. “Hey, he has it coming. Nobody hurts you on my watch.” Jay got up then. When he came back, he had some candies. “Want some?” 

“Yes. I’ll take whatever you give me.” Carlos opened his mouth and closed his eyes.

“Fuck Carlos, you better not be saying shit like that, I might take you up on it.” Carlos smiled softly, and then a piece of non-chocolate candy was put on his tongue. He chewed it and swallowed, then waited for more. 

He got a few more pieces after that, and then Jay was moving him on the bed, so he was lying down. “Okay, okay,” Jay muttered to himself and Carlos wondered if he was actually nervous. Then Jay was kissing him.

Carlos’s hands came up and touched Jay’s long hair, twining it between his fingers. Jay kissed hi more, and pressed him into the mattress. Carlos grunted, but didn’t tell Jay to stop. 

“You okay?” Carlos opened his eyes to see Jay looking worried. He nodded. “You sure? You can tell me if you’re not.”

“I’m fine,” Carlos said, and smiled. “I’m having a lot of fun.” He played with Jay’s hair some more.

“Good. I’m having fun too.” Jay moved his hips then, and looked down at Carlos to see if it was okay. Carlos kissed him again, and Jay laughed into it. But after a few minutes, he pulled off. “Sorry dude. Might be best if we don’t.”

“Remembered about that age of consent stuff?” Carlos rolled his eyes. “I don’t see what that has to do with us, I’ll be your age soon enough.”

“True, but I don’t want us to lose our room together.” Jay stood at the side of Carlos’s bed. “So, do we just go to sleep or…?”

“Just come here,” Carlos said. He wanted Jay near him. “I like sleeping next to you, I don’t wake up in the middle of the night as much.”

“You do that too?” Carlos looked over, surprised. This was information about Jay he didn’t expect. Jay just shrugged. “I know what your parent was like, and you know what mine was like. It’s lucky we can sleep at all.” 

“Yeah.” Carlos got up. “I’m gonna, you know, get ready for bed. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He didn’t kiss Jay, but he did brush his hand over Jay’s shoulder as he left. When he finished brushing his teeth and taking off his eyeliner, he came in to find Jay in his bed, with the TV on but not looking at it. 

“Hey,” he said. “If you want the shower it’s free.” Jay turned to look at him and smiled softly. 

“I’ll brush my teeth,” he said. “And maybe pull my hair back so you don’t drool on it.” 

“Oh ha ha,” Carlos said, and he got into bed. Jay didn’t get up at first, but then he slowly slid out of the bed. Carlos watched as he got out-Jay was only wearing his boxer-briefs. Carlos didn’t taunt him after that, just watched him go. 

When he got back, Carlos had taken off and put back on his shirt three times. His body was ugly, full of scars and freckles. Jay looked perfect in comparison. But when Jay came back, he pulled his shirt off and slid it out of the covers. 

“Hey,” Jay said. “You take that off for me?” Carlos nodded, the covers up to his neck. “Cool. Can I see?”

Carlos paused. But after a wait, he rolled down the blanket a little so Jay could see his collarbone and shoulders. He didn’t mind that part so much. Then he rolled it down lower. He had a few scars there, and burn marks. He hated seeing them himself, so he closed his eyes as Jay inspected them.

 

He heard Jay get into bed, and then felt a soft kiss on his shoulder. When he looked over, Jay’s eyes were dark and searching. Carlos nodded to him. _I’m okay._

“Good.” Jay kissed him, and Carlos kissed back. It was slow and soft, not frantic from them not having enough time. But after a while, Jay pulled back. “Let’s sleep, okay?” 

“Okay Jay.” Jay turned off the lamp and they curled up, Jay behind him, his hair getting in Carlos’s face. “Thought you said you’ll put this up.”

“I don’t need to. You don’t really drool on it. And it’ll just come loose anyway.” There was a pause. “Hey, Carlos? You know I’ll always try to protect you, right?” 

Carlos felt a lump in his throat. This was a dangerous conversation to have, but he still wanted to hear it. “Yeah.”

“Good. Doesn’t matter what it is. Your problems with eating in public or Charming, or your mom. You’ve got me by your side now. So don’t worry.” There was a long pause. “Okay. Goodnight.”

Carlos could see why Jay had to have the lights off before confessing that. “Goodnight. And, thanks.”

“Sure.” Then Carlos felt Jay shift closer, and his breath even out. Carlos stared into the darkness, thinking about all the things he had to lose now.

…

Jay kept his word and sat by Carlos’s side all through lunch. He didn’t feed him this time, since pepperoni pizza would be a bit too obvious. But Carlos was able to finish a slice with Jay there. Then Jay started feeding him dessert, taking a forkful of pie and giving it to Carlos. 

“Um, what’s that?” They both turned around to see Lonnie, who looked confused by them, but not disgusted. 

“Hi Lonnie,” Carlos said. “How’s your classes?” It wasn’t much of a deflection, and it didn’t do a whole lot to distract her. She sat down at their table, next to Carlos. 

Lonnie looked over at them. “Are you okay Carlos? Why is…” She suddenly stopped when Mal appeared out of nowhere to loom over Lonnie. Mal’s glare was an excellent way to shut people up, and Lonnie looked like she was about to run,

“Hi Lonnie,” Evie said, appearing at her side. “Come with me, I want to show you some designs.” Then she walked off with her, and Mal sat down. 

“Evie’s so much better at diplomacy than I am,” Mal said. “But maybe she won’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t think she will,” Jay said. “She doesn’t gossip much.” 

“I hope not.” Carlos didn’t eat any more of the pie Jay brought, even though it was delicious. “I kind of want to get out of here.” 

“Let’s go then, picnic tables.” Jay brought an apple, and Carlos didn’t bring anything. Mal stayed behind as the two of them found a sunny spot to sit. Carlos looked up at the sky. Auradon was always so pretty. He liked that about it. 

“She made you nervous, huh?” Jay took a bite out of the apple. “I wish she hadn’t seen. But I don’t think it will be a big deal. It’ll be less than Charming calling us gay.” 

“Charming turned out to be right though,” Carlos said softly. Carlos couldn’t imagine doing what he did with Jay, with anyone else. “I wish I could cut class and go back to our room. I’m tired.” The coronation was coming up. 

“I know. Maybe you should say you’re sick.” 

“What about you?” Carlos looked over at Jay. He didn’t want to be alone in their room right then. 

“I’ll be okay. Just get some rest. I’ll see you later. Use that fake cough you tried on the Island school.” Carlos nodded, and Jay smiled at him. “Go find FB or your next teacher. I’ll see you when my classes are done.” Jay got up then and stretched. Carlos watched as his shirt rode up, showing his belly. “See ya.” He jogged off. 

Carlos sat there a minute, trying out his fake cough. When he thought he’d gotten it right, he found a teacher.

…

 

The next day at lunch, Carlos tried eating on his own. He had Jay right next to him, and Mal and Evie across the table, although they weren’t staring at him. It took a while, but he wound up eating some mac and cheese. 

“Good job Carlos,” Jay said. He was smirking, like it was a joke, but Carlos could see that he felt actually proud. Carlos smiled back, then looked back at his plate. 

“Don’t push yourself,” Mal said, as she read her textbook. “You’ve done fine.”

“Yeah, we can leave if you want. I’ve had enough food.” Jay stood up then. Carlos got up too, and they went outside. Dude came with them. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. That wasn’t so hard this time.” Carlos looked around. They were getting stared at less. “Are people getting over the whole ‘we’re dating’ thing?”

“Jay squinted in the sun, looking ahead. “I think they all decided it was a joke. Since we told half of them it wasn’t sure and the other half it was. So they’ve forgotten about it. Except for Charming, he’s still giving me looks on the Tourney field.”

Carlos thought about that. “Long as he doesn’t look at you while you’re in the shower.” 

“Yeah, don’t think I’d be interested in that either,” Jay said, and they laughed. When they found a picnic table, Carlos looked up at the sun. “Weather’s always good here,” he said. “Bright and shiny.”

“Yep. Lots of food, lots of kiss ass students, people snubbing us. But on the whole, it’s pretty good.” 

“You love it,” Carlos said. “Tourney, lots of attention from girls.” Jay scoffed. “What, you always like that.”

“It’s okay. But I’m not really interested.” Jay looked at him, until Carlos wanted to break eye contact. “No, look at me.” Carlos figured he was blushing, but he did what Jay said. “You know, if we held hands right here, I bet everyone would think it was a joke.”

“You’re willing to risk that?” Carlos smiled, wondering if Jay was bluffing. Jay answered him by taking his hand across the picnic table. He held it softly, rubbing his thumb over Carlos’s knuckles. 

“Yeah, guess I am.” 

Carlos couldn’t say anything, he just looked at their hands. Right then, he didn’t care what else happened. He’d gotten something that he never would have on the Isle.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided the age of consent was 16 because if you can become king of Auradon at sixteen, you can damn well have sex.


End file.
